Gaza hospital chief says after release he was tortured by Israel
GAZA STRIP
The head of the Gaza Strip's biggest hospital said on Monday he had been "tortured" by Israel after being freed from more than seven months of detention.
Al-Shifa hospital director Mohammed Abu Salmiya was among more than 50 Palestinians released and returned to Gaza for treatment, according to an Israeli minister and a medical source in the besieged territory.
Salmiya said he was put through "severe torture" during his detention, which left him with a broken thumb.
"Prisoners are subjected to all kinds of torture," he told a press conference. "Several inmates died in interrogation centers and were deprived of food and medicine."
"For two months no prisoner ate more than a loaf of bread a day," said Salmiya.
"Detainees were subjected to physical and psychological humiliation."
The medical chief said no charge had ever been made against him.
Israeli forces detained Salmiya during one of a number of raids on Al-Shifa.
The hospital has largely been reduced to rubble by successive raids since Israel launched its assault on Gaza.
Salmiya and the other freed detainees crossed back into Gaza from Israel just east of Khan Yunis, a medical source at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah told AFP.
Five detainees were admitted to Al-Aqsa Hospital and the others were sent to hospitals in Khan Yunis, the source added.
An AFP correspondent at Deir al-Balah saw some detainees in emotional reunions with their families.
Israel's military has accused Hamas of using hospitals in the Gaza Strip as a cover for military operations. It has raided Al-Shifa and other hospitals, and says it has found tunnels and other infrastructure.
Director’s release sparks political row in Israel
The decision to release of the director drew harsh condemnations from Israeli ministers and opposition leaders, as the various state organs responsible for detentions scrambled to shift blame.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that he had ordered an immediate inquiry, but noted that “the decision to release the prisoners follows High Court hearings,” and that releases were determined “independently by security officials.”
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who controls the country’s police and prison service, said the release of the director and the others constituted “security negligence” and blamed Defense Ministry Yoav Gallant. Ben Gvir reportedly called for the resignation of the head of Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service.
Israeli new outlet Haaretz reported that sources close to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he was not aware that the release was planned, and that he was not involved.
Yair Lapid, an opposition leader, said that Salmiya’s release was another sign of the government’s “lawlessness and dysfunction
In May, Palestinian rights groups said a senior Al-Shifa surgeon had died in an Israeli jail after being detained. The Israeli army said it was unaware of the death.